Dwyane Wade: What's the Game Plan for Mavs in Defending Miami's Wade?

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Dwyane Wade Presents Extremely Difficult Matchup for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals

Dwyane Wade still haunts the dreams of Dallas Mavericks fans with glimpses of him drawing endless fouls in the 2006 NBA Finals and making free throw after free throw.

The Mavs better hope they have a much more concrete game plan in the 2011 Finals. ESPN.com writers Kevin Arnovitz and Tom Haberstroh talk about one of the likely options:

Wade, meanwhile, presents a more interesting series of choices for Dallas. DeShawn Stevenson is the Mavericks' designated defender on the wing and he'll open each game on Wade. The NBA's Stats Cube tells us that Wade scored only a single field goal during the 30 minutes he shared the floor with Stevenson this season. When Stevenson took a seat, Wade exploded for 42 points in 50 minutes.

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Problem is, Stevenson is an offensive liability and they can't have him out there in critical junctures of the game. Jason Kidd is a crunch-time option, but will he be too worn out to effectively run the point?

Jason Terry and JJ Barea are out of the question, so what will Dallas do?

They will need Tyson Chandler to patrol the middle and keep Wade off balance on his drives to the hole. They need Stevenson to bring the "heat" for awhile, but it will be Kidd's D down the stretch that will dictate how much of a factor Wade is for the Heat.

It's not going to be easy for the Mavs, and it may ultimately spell their demise.

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